Ulysse Nardin

The brand Ulysse Nardin is unparalleled. Absolutely traditional, yet always keen to demonstrate their innovative spirit. Many timepieces were created with sophisticated complications in conjunction with timeless design.

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Ulysse Nardin a true roller coaster ride

The craft of watchmaking was in the blood of the Nardin family. Already Léonard Frédéric Nardin was an esteemed watchmaker, but it was his son Ulysse who laid the foundation of the family heritage.
He was born in 1823 and did the same as his father, he learned the trade of watchmaking. Ulysse Nardin took the big step into self-employment and in 1846 opened his own factory in Le Locle, Switzerland. The founder was blessed with talent. Thanks to him, the company of the same name, Ulysse Nardin, won many prizes for the refined pocket watches, which came engineering table of the founder.

In 1876, Ulysse died unexpectedly and his son was pushed into the cold water - at age 19, Paul David Nardin took over the leadership of the manufactory. But he knew how to manage the situation. He quickly established the small Swiss company and was finally an internationally recognized manufacturer of pocket watches and marine chronometers. After a few years, more than 50 shipping fleets from all over the world, as well as international shipping companies, were equipped with naval chronographs from Ulysse Nardin.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the company began producing wristwatches. Pocket watches were still the prevalent timepiece in the society, but other companies had already begun producing wristwatches - a trend was emerging. Not long and the wristwatch had almost completely replaced the pocket watch. Ulysse Nardin also managed to differentiate his brand from other manufacturers in this new market and he was very successful.
On the occasion of the Olympic Summer Games in 1936, Ulysse Nardin presented an absolute novelty - a men's watch, made of stainless steel with chronograph function and automatic winding. This did not exist before, but once again the company proved its visionary spirit.

A harsh blow had to take the manufactory in the 1980s. The quartz crisis drove many manufacturers to the brink of insolvency, which is why most tried to jump on the bandwagon and also produced quartz watches. But not Ulysse Nardin: The brand decided not to break with tradition and stayed with the well-known mechanical watches. This almost drove the comany into bankruptcy.
In 1983, however, a resourceful businessman and watch enthusiast, Rolf W. Schnyder, took the favor of the hour. The Swiss took over the ailing company because he recognized the potential and the knowledge of the manufactory.
With the energetic support of his business partner and watch designer, Ludwig Oechslin, Schnyder succeeded in getting the company Ulysse Nardin back on track. Within a few years, the watchmaker's position in the luxury watch marketplace was a new one.
Today Ulysse Nardin is one of the leading manufacturers of Swiss luxury watches, sees itself at the forefront of the watch industry and can draw on both a long tradition and on knowledge of the extra class. The maritime origin of the brand is still clearly recognizable in many series by Ulysse Nardin.

A Ulysse Nardin as an investment?

Used, certified Ulysse Nardin watches

The most important thing in advance: Nobody can guarantee a gain in value of a luxury watch. Most models experience a decline in value, similar to new cars. But if a model is to become an iconic object in the coming years, attractive returns can be expected. The trick is to anticipate and hit the development of a watch when it is at its lowest price point. Since not everyone has such a high degree of experience, we summarize the most important indications here, which do not promise an increase in value but make it more probable.

In general, models that have been produced only in limited editions have the greatest potential. These are no longer manufactured, are available only limited and the demand is higher.

In addition, you should put emphasis on well-known brands. The industry's top dogs are known worldwide, enjoy a good reputation and look back on long traditions.

The manufacturer should come from Switzerland - that sounds clumsy at first, but hits the heart of the matter. Switzerland is home to almost all major luxury watch manufacturers and is now synonymous for wristwatches as a symbol of high quality craftsmanship, the highest standards and thus watchmaking excellence. The most renowned certification organizations in the industry are also based in Switzerland.

The next aspect is tradition. The longer the company's history, the more experience and knowledge goes into the products of the brand. This makes the watch itself more interesting, giving it a kind of own character.

Not to be neglected is also the number of built in complications. These can be a second time zone, moon phase or date display. The rule of thumb "The more the better" is correct, because with every additional complication, the value of the watch also increases.

If you are considering buying a vintage watch, be sure to check the condition of the watch. Used luxury watches can possibly get hold of cheap, but they should come in the best possible condition and as a complete set - with original box and papers.

Ulysse Nardin models have many of the mentioned features: The manufacturer is known and recognized worldwide. The registered office of the brand has been located in Switzerland since its inception, more than 150 years ago. Even in the quartz crisis, Ulysse Nardin remained true to tradition instead of relocating. That all models have additional complications, can hardly be overseen - in fact, the company lives the joy of experimentation and keeps coming up with revolutionary innovations.
Ultimately we can give you, as mentioned above, no guarantee for an increase in value of a Ulysse Nardin watch. But judged by the decisive hints, the odds are certainly not bad. However, a detailed search of the model of your desire, as well as a monitoring of the market price development is strongly recommended in any case.

That's why you should choose Ulysse Nardin

The 5 decisive arguments

Watchmaking know-how - Ulysse Nardin has always remained faithful to its tradition and yet keeps pace with the time. This results in knowledge that has been passed on and matured for more than a century.

Guinness-World-Record - With the model Moonstruck Ulysse Nardin ties in with the calculations of Oechslin from the early 1980s. He developed a movement that deviates just one day in 144,000 years and put the company, through this invention, in the book of world records.

A pioneer in silicon technology - Ulysse Nardin was the first manufacturer to use the antimagnetic material silicon for its escapements. This resulted in significantly less friction.

Outstanding Accuracy - Through in-depth research and development in the field of watch movements, the company unearthed many revolutionary technologies, which showed in the highest level of precision. Because good is not good enough!

Excellent Swiss craftsmanship - The factory has been located in Le Locle since its founding. The town is also known as the cradle of Swiss watchmaking. Besides Ulysse Nardin also Mido, Tissot and Zenith are also located here.

What to anticipate with a Ulysse Nardin?

The range of Ulysse Nardin is divided into five collections. Each of them has its own unique characteristics and expresses excellence in a different way.

Marine - The collection honors its commitment to the oceans of the world. The timepieces are the ultimate expression of technical performance, combined with a light design.
In the Ulysse Nardin Marine collection there are seven series: Marine Chronograph, Marine Chronometer, Marine Torpilleur, Marine Grand Deck, Marine Tourbillon, Marine Lady Chronometer and Marine Regatta. They all reflect in their own way they the company's affinity with the nautical world.

Diver - The Diver Chronograph, Diver Chronometer, Diver Deep Dive and Diver Lady Diver series features all of the company's divers watches. The bezel is rotatable to one side. All of the watches are waterproof from 30 to 100bar pressure. Each watch in the series represents a highly reliable diving instrument and at the same time a very elegant sports watch.

Classico - The models of the 14 series are very different. Inspired by past craftsmanship traditions, the Ulysse Nardin Classico collection offers a wide selection of beautiful styles and breathtaking complications beyond compare. From classically elegant dials with moving figures to transparent Skeleton Tourbillon watches everything is offered here.

Executive - The timeless yet bold design of the timepieces from the Ulysse Nardin Executive Collection creates a high recognition value. The Executive Dual Time, Executive Moonstruck, Executive Skeleton Tourbillon and Executive Tourbillon Free Wheel models are easy to use and functional.

Freak - The collection Ulysse Nardin Freak is known for the absolutely unique, avant-garde design. It makes crown, hands and dial obsolete, the name tells it all: you can hardly express the design in words. But the watch itself is award-winning, with its silicon-escapment components since 2001, it testifies to the spirit of innovation of the company.

The corporate philosophy of Ulysse Nardin

Continuous development of significant innovations - true to this motto, the founder Ulysse Nardin began to build his watches. After the takeover of the family business by Rolf W. Schnyder in 1983, the idea to continue research and developing new mechanisms became more than ever the brand philosophy. Due to the pursuit of the new and the idea of maintaining the traditional values, the introduction of the eternal calendar in 1996 was successful. This is still the supreme discipline of all complications. The calendar display takes into account not just months with 30 days without manual adjustment or 31 days, but even leap years. The implementation of silicon in movements is also due to Ulysse Nardin, today this technology is used by almost all manufacturers.

The fastest option: finance your Ulysse Nardin

You fell in love with a model and now face the problem: A cheap Ulysse Nardin is hard to find. But among the numerous certified, used luxury watches in the online shop of Watchmaster are always models of the premium brand represented.
You can conveniently buy this by credit card, PayPal or the classical way via bank transfer. Alternatively, Watchmaster offers you affordable financing options for your desired Ulysse Nardin watch. During the order process you can put together your own installment plan, determine the period and amount of the down payment yourself and just in a few days you will hold your new watch in hands!